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NEW YORK -- The finality of what he was about to go through hit Alex Rodriguez on the ride from Manhattan to Yankee Stadium. On many days, he would drive up Broadway through various neighborhoods in Manhattan and formulate some kind of a strategy against the opposing pitcher.
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But on Friday, as he rode to the Bronx for his final game with the Yankees, Rodriguez thought about all the good, bad and controversial things he had been through since coming to New York in a blockbuster trade in Feb. 2004.
"The drive in was nostalgic for sure," Rodriguez said. "It's the last time I drive up Broadway through Harlem, the neighborhoods that have brought so much comfort to me.
"You think about driving to the park it's something that I'll never forget. It's something that I've done for 13 years and it's kind of when you start you formulating your game plan for tonight's pitcher. Those are the things I'm going to miss."
As a huge media crowd descended upon Yankee Stadium, Rodriguez's eventful 13-year career in pinstripes concluded Friday night with sentimentality and, for the designated hitter, some form of amazement at how it ended with him being asked to become an advisor to managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner, who came up with the plan Aug. 3.
"With all my screw ups and how badly I acted, the fact that I'm walking out the door and Hal wants me as part of the family, that's hitting 800 home runs," Rodriguez said.
He gave a huge press conference about three and a half hours before first pitch and then met a huge swarm of media when he came out for his final batting practice session. Then as the tarp was on the field, Rodriguez was honored while appropriately enough heavy rains and loud thunder appeared.
At 8:17 pm, he walked to the plate with a standing ovation. Five pitches later, he emphatically clapped his hands after getting a stand up double to right-center field.
About an hour later, he heard another loud ovation but grounded out. The third at-bat featured another ovation but ended with a strikeout on the third pitch.
Rodriguez's had his fourth and final at-bat at 10:28 and it ended with him grounding out to shortstop on the first pitch.
However, it was not his final act as a Yankee. He sprinted out of the dugout to play third base for the top of the ninth inning, granting the wishes of the crowd who had been chanting his name.
He walked off the field for the final time when Ronald Torreyes replaced him. He hugged his fellow infielders and embraced the rest of his teammates pouring out of the dugout before tipping his hat and waving to the crowd.
While this was the end of his time as an active player for the Yankees, the word retired has not been officially used and this might not be Rodriguez's retirement from baseball. It will be for at least few days, and as he said a few times Friday, he needs a "nap".
"After all of this I'm going to need a long nap and recover and see where life takes me," Rodriguez said.
Right now, life has taken him to the end of one of the most eventful careers in Yankee history. He is fourth with 696 homers, 19th with 3,115 hits, second with 2,086 RBIs and eighth in runs scored with 2,021.
Normally those are numbers that are a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame, but then there are the steroid controversies, which cloud his legacy.
"That not for me to say," Rodriguez said. "That's for you guys and for the fans. For me, today is about really thanking all the fans, all the coaches, the managers and people that gave me an opportunity."
For Rodriguez, Friday was about not his legacy, but closure and a celebration that will precede his nap.
"I may have a couple cocktails tonight, so I may not wake up by game time tomorrow," he said.
